


Hermann/Newt Ficlets

by SaunterVaguely



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Jealousy, M/M, Newt has some social anxieties, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, these are some weird tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 17:13:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaunterVaguely/pseuds/SaunterVaguely
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From prompts on tumblr. Ratings vary.<br/>Chapter 1: "Haunt Me", one character watching over another.<br/>Chapter 2: "Zip Me", one character dressing another.<br/>Chapter 3: "Get Me", one character saving another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s well past four in the morning when Hermann wakes, feeling a strange sense of unease under his own tiredness. He’s come to recognize the difference between his own emotions and sensations, and the ones that Newton is feeling. Apparently among especially strongly-compatible Drift partners, the emotional echoes can stay for months, possibly longer.

He sighs and swings his legs out from under the blankets, standing unsteadily and reaching for his cane. He shrugs on his bathrobe, stepping out into the hallway and heading automatically for the lab.

As he expected, the lights are on and there’s music playing (quieter than it would be during the day, surprisingly considerate) over the sounds of clanking, splatting and muttering. Hermann sighs heavily and opens the door.

Newt is hacking away at a section of some unnameable organ, dropping the pieces into an industrial-sized blender and humming unevenly to himself. He’s still wearing the same clothes he was yesterday, and they’re stained with all sorts of fluids. Hermann shakes his head and steps further into the room. Newt blows right past him, so far into his own head that he doesn’t even see the other man. 

"Newton?"

"What?!" Newt yelps and spins around, noticing that he’s not alone for the first time. "Hermann? When did you get- what time is it?"

"Half past four am, Newton, you really ought to be asleep right now." The taller man rubs his forehead in exasperation.

"What? No, man, it’s, I haven’t been awake that long. I started working after breakfast yesterday."

"You started working on Friday, Newton, it is now Sunday. You need to go to bed; you are keeping me awake."

Newt stops his frantic movement for the first time, blinking up at Hermann. “Oh. The Drift, huh? Sorry.”

"Yes, the Drift, now return to your room and get some rest." Hermann nods once and taps his cane against the floor, punctuating his statement.

"Mmhm." Newt’s answer doesn’t inspire much confidence, his shoulders slumping as he bites his lip. Hermann feels the faint tug of hesitation mix with the weary anxiety flowing from his companion, and he sighs again.

"Or you may come sleep in my bed, if that is the only way I can convince you."

Newton’s head pops up at that, eyes wide and mouth hitching into a grin. “Really? Thanks, Herms!” He yanks a sheet of plastic over the kaiju parts he was working on, snaps off his gloves and comes bounding back over.

Hermann tsks and walks back to his room, occasionally hissing at Newt to be quieter as the smaller man careens down the hallway. Once the door closes behind them, Hermann carefully slips out of his robe and hangs it up, while Newton (under stern prompting) goes into the washroom and rinses off all the built-up stains and various crusts he’s gained over the past three days. The biologist comes back into the bedroom, wearing only underwear and a borrowed sleeping shirt, and crawls into bed, wrapping himself around Hermann without a second thought. He’s asleep within moments, and Hermann allows a fond smile to play across his face before he kisses the exhausted, exhausting man’s forehead and turns off the light.


	2. Chapter 2

"You’re joking," Hermann states flatly, staring down at the disaster of fabric held in Newt’s outstretched arms. "Tell me you’re joking."

"Dude, you promised you’d wear whatever I brought you as long as it was warm, and this is the warmest thing I could find," Newt insists, waving the item in question at him.

It’s [quite possibly the strangest holiday jumper](http://shredders.myshopify.com/products/bigfoot) Hermann has ever seen, off-white and covered in tiny brown knit pine trees. In the center of it all is a huge, silhouetted image of bigfoot, captured in the classic pose from that famous video.

"No."

"Aw, c’mon, man! Look, I’d loan you my Krampus sweater but I’m pretty sure the sleeves are too short." The biologist is also wearing a questionably seasonal jumper, [red with black patterns and an image of Krampus carrying off a screaming child](http://shredders.myshopify.com/products/krampus).

"Absolutely not."

"Don’t be a scrooge; everybody’s gonna be here any minute and if you’re not wearing a festive sweater with us it’s just gonna ruin the whole," Newton waves a vague hand, "Season… synchronicity… thing. That we do." He flaps the sweater around again. "C’mooonnnn dude."

"Newton, I-"

"Wear it or you don’t get any peppermint bark."

Hermann heaves a world-weary sigh and sets aside his cane (which Newt took it upon himself to wrap in candy-cane striped paper for the holidays), starts to reach for the terrible sweater. Newt shakes his head, grinning, and gestures for Hermann to raise his arms. “Really, Newton, I am capable of dressing myself.”

"I know, man, but this is special and I wanna help. Plus if I just hand you the thing you might chuck it into the fireplace."

Fair enough.

Hermann lifts his arms and closes his eyes as the thick fabric is lowered over his eyes, tugged down to his waist. Newt takes great care in making sure that the sweater (which is truthfully very warm and surprisingly comfortable) rests nicely on the mathematician’s lean frame. 

"Perfect! Aw, Herms, you look adorable, you big grinchy baby." Newt hops up on his toes to steal a kiss, then dances back to avoid the swat Hermann aims at him. 

Tendo is the first to arrive, in [his own magnificently bizarre choice](http://shredders.myshopify.com/products/blanta) of clothing, and he shoots Hermann a wink and compliments him on his “snappy duds, bud”. Hermann rolls his eyes and stuffs another chunk of peppermint bark into his mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

Newt likes to think he’s a pretty chill guy. Well, okay, he’s not really chill; he’s high-strung on a good day, bouncing-off-the-walls crazy on a bad day. But in terms of relationships, and possessive behavior, jealousy or whatever, he tends to be pretty relaxed. He’s just never been the type to get all hung up on who his significant others like to hang out with; it’s weird and archaic and just not his deal.

And yet, here he is, leaning against the wall with a drink in his hand, watching Hermann smile and laugh with a group of attractive, charming people, and contemplating murder. 

It’s a big, fancy academic shindig, held at the ‘dome a year after the closing of the Breach, the kind of party with sparkly drinks and miniature food. Normally Newt would be all over that, especially with the added bonus of seeing Hermann in clothes that actually fit him and actually make him look dapper as hell, but tonight he’s feeling, well. A little crowd-shy. Usually when he gets in one of these moods, he spends the evening curling around Hermann on the couch and watching bad movies, pretending that other people don’t exist. Unfortunately, the two of them are kind of guests of honor (alongside a few pilots and families of pilots), so he’s doing his best to just tough it out.

His resolve breaks, however, when he sees a tall, strapping man with a fine suit and perfect teeth hand Hermann a glass of champagne, very deliberately curling his fingers around Hermann’s as he passes it over, and Hermann actually flushes a little, and oh hell no. Newt finishes his drink, sets it somewhere, and straightens his tie.

"Hey, Hermann," he calls, jogging over and inserting himself into the crowd. "I, uh, need your help with- a thing."

Hermann turns to look at him, elegant and refined and so gorgeous it makes Newt’s chest hurt. “A thing?”

"Yeah." Newt swallows hard and nods urgently, trying to ignore the way his pulse is pounding in his ears every time someone brushes against him, fighting the urge to squirm away from the crush of bodies around him. "A science thing. Really important. Need your help, because, you know, science. We’re science partners." He tries not to glance around as he adds, slightly louder, "And, y’know, like, other type partners, too. Romantic and stuff. Because we love each other." His brain is screaming at his mouth to stop, stop making words, because he’s only making it worse and now everyone is staring at him and he’s just gonna drive Hermann away acting like this, but his mouth doesn’t listen and he just keeps going. He adds as an aside to the person next to him, the graceful, dark-skinned lady that made Hermann laugh earlier, "He loves me." Is he shaking? He thinks he might be shaking. His stomach hurts.

Hermann stiffens as a few chuckles erupt around them, and the mathematician sets his glass down on a tray and grips Newt by the elbow, hauling him away into the hall. “Fine, Newton, if it’s so very urgent.” 

The hallway is quiet, the party muffled in the distance. Newt’s ready for the hurricane of wrath that’s about to be directed his way, braces himself for impact, and is startled to find that his mouth is suddenly occupied by Hermann’s tongue. “Mm?” He says, and then, “Mmm!” 

Hermann’s palm cups Newt’s cheek as he pulls away from the kiss, already breathing harshly through his nose. “Thank you. Newton.”

"Uh?" Says Newt, cheeks flushed and glasses skewed. 

"That was one of the dullest, most disagreeable conversations I have ever been trapped in. Those people are dreadful." He kisses Newt again, firmly, other hand sliding around the biologist’s waist. "You rescued me from social purgatory, darling."

"I- I did?" Newt blinks and cranes his neck automatically as more kisses are trailed down toward his shoulder. "I mean, yeah, totally. Sure."

"Mmhm," Hermann’s voice is muffled against his skin, thin fingers digging into his back. 

"I mean…" Newt can’t help continuing, "Some of those people were pretty… well, um. Pretty. And smart."

The mouth on his neck stops sucking a hickey into his skin and draws back, frowning, and Newt drops his gaze as Hermann asks slowly, “Where are you going with this?”

Newt squirms and mumbles, “I dunno.”

The mathematician’s eyes narrow and he grasps Newt’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Newton. I have absolutely no interest in any of those… people. Believe me.”

The smaller man nods, still red-faced. “Yeah, okay.”

Hermann arches a brow, unimpressed. “Very well. You need further convincing?” He steps back and tugs at Newt’s tie, the biologist stumbling along after him as he leads them toward the elevator. “Come along, hero.”

They miss the rest of the party, but neither of them really minds.


End file.
